


A Way with Words

by scatter



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Comfort, Community: badbadbathhouse, Gen, Insecurity, Late Night Conversations, Subtext
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-22
Updated: 2011-04-22
Packaged: 2017-10-18 12:27:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/188883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scatter/pseuds/scatter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yosuke provides Souji with some comfort early in their friendship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Way with Words

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a [prompt](http://badbadbathhouse.livejournal.com/1488.html?thread=7475920#t7475920) at the Persona 4 Kink Meme: _anything in which Yosuke has to comfort Souji, or calm him down about something_
> 
> _hell, just anything Souji/Yosuke with a little bit of role reversal (Souji being the spazzy emotional mess, Yosuke being the more level-headed one in any situation, whatever)_
> 
> _the joys of being a close relationship is that both have equal opportunities to be the supportive and the mess. :B at least in my experience, there's no set roles in a relationship. Doesn't have to be anything big and dramatic either, just something little would be great._

Yosuke's phone going off surprises him for two reasons: one, it never rings, not unless his parents are calling him; and two, it's right next to his pillow and he was not expecting the Junes jingle to blare in his ear.

Also, it's like two in the morning, and he's exhausted from school and work and another day inside the TV.

"You're not busy, are you?" Souji says when he answers the phone with a grunt that'll have to pass for a hello. It's the best he can manage.

"Sleeping."

"Oh, sorry, I'll let you go."

"No, no." Yosuke rubs his eyes and checks the clock. Yeah, right before two but at least that means he'll be able to catch a few more hours of sleep. He forces his brain to wake up for a few minutes because if Souji's calling this late then it must be about something important. "It's fine."

"Okay."

Yosuke waits for him to continue but there're only the sounds of Souji moving something around, a thud and a noise like he's flipping through the pages of a book. Who reads in the middle of the night? "You wanted something, partner?"

"Right, sorry. How do you think—no, I meant, how's your arm? You fell on it pretty hard earlier."

"It's fine." It's still sore and he'd been sleeping on it wrong, but it's like a badge of honor, a sign that he's quick enough to keep Souji from being hit. Getting knocked down afterwards sucked but he'll work on that. "Did you really call me so you could ask about this?"

"No, sorry, it's…a little more complicated. I think Chie's upset with me."

"Why, what'd you do?" And why does it matter now? It's _two in the morning_ ; even if Souji's got a crush, it can wait until they're at school when Yosuke's in the right mood to press him for details.

"Maybe I'm not cut out for this, maybe we're not…" There's something weird about Souji's voice and as he trails off again, Yosuke figures it out. These hesitations, these loose, unfocused thoughts, they're not like Souji. They don’t fit the image of the guy he's gotten to know over the past week, the one who looks so confident facing a Shadow that Yosuke doesn't hesitate to follow him into battle, and that wakes him up, gets his brain working a little more like it should.

"Do you think we're not moving fast enough to save Yukiko?" Souji continues. "I think Chie's frustrated with how slow we're going."

"Nah, we're doing fine. I want to get Yukiko out just as much as Chie does, but if we just rush in we might bite off more than we can chew and get our asses kicked. Plus, you look like you know what you're doing; I trust you."

He means it to be reassuring, but what he gets in response is Souji's voice, frustrated now, saying, "That's the problem, I haven't—I mean, I don’t know what I'm… What if we _are_ going too slow? What if I'm being too careful or I'm missing something or I give you a wrong order—"

Yosuke sits up in his futon, waking up more with every word that comes out of Souji's mouth. "Hey, slow down—"

"—and you… That hit you took for me, what if it had seriously injured you?"

"Relax for a second."

"Yosuke," Souji says, and for the first time since meeting him Yosuke hears something like fear in his voice, "I don't have any idea what I'm doing."

Yosuke doesn't know what to say to that.

"I'm scared, and the farther we get in the castle the worse it gets. I keep thinking of everything that can go wrong and what we'll find, and I've… I know you wanted me to be leader, but I've never done anything like this, I've never ordered anyone around, and how can I know I'm giving you guys the right directions when I'm picking it up as we go along? What if I give the wrong one and one of you gets hurt because of it and it's not just a bruised arm?"

There's a break, a pause Yosuke knows he should fill with something, anything, but nothing comes to mind. He's been scared in the TV, right from the moment they all toppled in, but Souji's always been so composed, nothing's touched him, not putting his hand through the screen or meeting Teddie or being in the room with the noose. He's never considered Souji could feel this way.

"I'm sorry." Souji sighs, low and tired, and his defeated tone makes the anxious feeling in Yosuke's chest worse. "I was up studying and it got late and my mind started wandering… I shouldn't have called and dropped all of this on you, forget about it."

"No, hey—" He has no idea what he's going to say, but he knows he can't let Souji hang up now. "Wait, partner, wait." That helps, saying the name he's given Souji; partner works both ways, has to or it doesn't mean anything, and Yosuke's meant it since the first time he said it.

"…Yeah?"

"You… You're doing great," he says.

"Thanks."

"I'm serious, you're awesome, you're—when we fell in the TV – you remember that? – I almost pissed myself but there you were, making sure we were all okay and trying to get us back out and that...that was awesome."

Souji laughs, short and quiet. "It's fine, Yosuke, it's okay—"

"And, yeah, I guess I pushed you into being leader but you were so…" Yosuke tightens his grip around his phone, searching for the right words and failing to find them. "You just fit, that's why I did it, because I felt like I could follow you, and you might not think you you're up to it, but I haven't regretted asking you to take charge, not once. I know you're not going to screw up, I know you're going to give us the right orders because… I don't know, but I'm positive about this. "

A heavy silence stretches between them, and Yosuke wishes he was smarter or cleverer, wishes he could say something that would let Souji know just how much he's come to rely on his leadership, but he's not so he can't and the silence gets heavier, makes him more anxious and—Yosuke's done a lot of thinking in his spare moments since confronting his Shadow and he knows he needs Souji's confidence, needs him to be strong because if he's not then Yosuke's not going to have anyone to lean on and he can't do this alone, the entire investigation will fall apart. Saki's killer won't be caught and Yukiko will stay in the TV, all because Yosuke's not strong enough to stand on his own two feet.

"Do you mean all of that?" He recognizes the tone of Souji's voice as one that's been in his own too often. Souji wants to believe what he's saying, needs to, and Yosuke rushes to assure him.

"Yeah, of course, so don't worry so much, okay?"

"Even though I don’t know what I'm doing?"

"You're doing a hell of a job faking it." He combs his fingers through his hair. "Fooled me, anyway."

"Even if I'm scared?" That comes quieter, a harder admission.

"Hey, I'm scared too, that place is crazy shit, but it's not so bad when we're all together, right? You and me and Chie? I've got your back, don't forget, and you haven't been on the wrong end of Chie's kick but that hurts. No Shadow's going to get her down."

Souji exhales like he's been holding his breath for a long time and Yosuke can almost see him drawing strength from his words, feels the knot in his chest loosen and be replaced by something more pleasant when Souji says, "Okay. Okay, I'm… Thanks, Yosuke. This means a lot to me."

Yosuke smiles. "Anytime. But maybe not so early?"

"Ah, sorry! Go back to bed, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night, partner."

"Night, um…" Another pause and then, quick and shy: "Partner."

Souji hangs up before he can respond, but Yosuke goes back to sleep with a smile on his face, no longer the least bit annoyed at being woken up.


End file.
